When Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans in August 2005, the levee failures inundated the city -- particularly its most vulnerable neighborhoods -- with a hazardous sea of fuel, sewage and chemicals. This August 2007 issue paper reveals that people in New Orleans were returning home to communities that have not been adequately cleaned up, and offers solutions on a federal and local level for charting a safer course for New Orleans.

Drought and dry conditions withering the western United States are likely to persist and intensify, jeapordizing the region's water supply and water quality, compromising the health of rivers and lakes, and increasing the risk of flooding for Western communities. This NRDC report breaks new ground by analyzing the effects of global warming on a full range of water management tools and offering recommendations to meet the challenge.

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